


The Prince and the Stray

by Evilbunnygirl93



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, mentions of torture, mentions rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 07:32:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8480959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilbunnygirl93/pseuds/Evilbunnygirl93
Summary: After Uruha and Aoi get married, things seems perfect, but for Reita it seems like his life hasn't improved. The eldest prince, Prince Die, doesn't seem to like him that much, but it seems Reita doesn't know the whole story. Will Die be able to express his true feeling or are they destined to remain seperated?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter focuses on AoixUruha

            Uruha stared down at the market place from the top of the building. He sighed with a smile as he stared at the crowd below. His eyes were on a dark haired man in particular. Uruha’s tan tail twitched behind him and his pointed ears wiggled.

“Still people watching?

Uruha rolled his eyes and turned to face his friend. The blonde was in similar rags as himself. Brown torn clothing draped their bodies showing their low class. “Leave me alone Reita.”

He looked back to search for the raven again when his friend stood next to him. Uruha looked at Reita’s bandaged eye and nose. Uruha’s ears dropped. He looked down at his own scraggly tail and his shoulders dropped. Reita gripped his shoulder and smiled.

“Let’s go down there.” Reita said and turned. His dark grey tail waved behind him and his ears twitched as he walked. The blonde turned and looked at him. “Come on.”

            They walked down to the market place getting glares from the stand owners. As they walked further into the crowd, Uruha spotted the mysterious raven. He blushed to himself, but Reita tapped his arm. He looked over to see him holding a purple pouch.

“What’s that?”

“It’s your lover boy’s money bag. I snatched it from him before I went up to get you.”

“Reita! What the hell?” Uruha snapped.

“Calm down.” He said placing it in the brunette’s hand. “This is your chance to talk to him. Just take it up to him and tell him you saw him drop it.”

“I-I can’t.”

Reita rolled his eyes. “You’ve been watching him for months now. At least find out his name.”

Uruha swallowed hard as he was pushed forward by his friend. The brunette groaned, but started making his way towards the raven haired man. Uruha stared at the black round ears on his head as he moved closer. His silky black tail waved behind him as he smiled at booth of gold jewelry.

            Uruha walked closer to the man, but two guards in metals suits blocked his path and glared at him. He shook and dropped his ears.

“What business do have with the prince?” The taller of the two asked.

Uruha’s eyes widen. “P-prince? He’s a prince?”

“Back away.” The guard ordered. Uruha clenched the pouch.

“I-I was just…he dropped this.” The brunette lifted the purple money bag to show them. The two glared at him, but before they could react, the prince spoke.

“Oh my.” The raven was patting his coat pockets. He moved between the guards and smiled at Uruha as he took the bag. “Thank you.”

“Check it, sire. He might still be a thief.” The guard stated.

The prince waved his hand. “Quiet you. Now, what is your name?” He said towards the brunette.

“Uruha.” He said with a blush.

“Well, Uruha, I know a good way to thank you.” He said. He raised his purple jacket sleeve revealing four bracelets on his wrist. He took off the small golden bracelet with a red gem on it. He grabbed Uruha’s arm and slipped it onto his wrist.

“Your highness, I can’t take this...”

“Of course you can. It’s my gift to you.”

Uruha blushed looking at the bracelet. “Thank you, my prince.”

Just then his stomach growled loudly and the raven laughed softly. He looked to one of his guards and nodded his head. The man bowed and hurried away as the prince gently grabbed Uruha’s hand. He kissed the top of it making the brunette’s face grew a brighter shade of red.

“You’re quite the sight.”

“Prince Aoi, this man is a lowly stray feline. You shouldn’t associate with him.” The remaining guard said.

The raven glared at him. “I will associate myself with whom I please. How dare you insult him like that.”

“I’m sorry, your highness.” The guard said with a bow. “I’m only looking after your best interest.

“My best interest is to start looking for a new guard. One that doesn’t interrupt my conversations.” The man swallowed hard and bowed his head. Aoi turned and smiled again at Uruha who was watching nervously as the scene. “Now, Uruha. Don’t hesitate to come and see me when I’m in the market.”

“Sir.” The second guard had reappeared with a brown bag. Aoi took the bag and placed it into Uruha’s hand.

“Take this. It should fill you up. I have to go, but I hope to see you again soon.”

Uruha nodded his head. They said their goodbyes and Uruha watched as the prince walked away towards some waiting horses.

            The brunette couldn’t stop smiling as he walked towards his home. He entered the alleyway and walked down to the small tented areas. He spotted Reita sitting under a clothed tent on his mat. Uruha got under it and sat on his own spot and smiled.

“So, did you get his name?” Reita asked taking a bite from his stale bread. His grey tail wiggled beside him.

Uruha blushed and whispered. “You’re not going to believe who he is.”

“Oh?”

“A prince.”

“No way!” Reita laughed, but was silenced by the look on the brunette’s face. “Seriously?”

Uruha nodded. “Prince Aoi. Look he gave me this bracelet and wants to see me some more.”

The blonde whistled, but then quickly tore off a piece of his own shirt and tied it around the golden bracelet. “Don’t let anyone see this. They’ll kill you for it, okay. That thing can buy a lot of meals for someone out here.”

Uruha nodded then remembered the brown bag. He opened it up and gasped. He pulled out fresh bread, jam, and a cooked fish. Reita whistled again and smiled as he chewed on his bread some more. Uruha smiled to himself and he happily shared his meal with Reita.

            Over the next week Uruha spotted the prince in the market place, and after some pushing from Reita, he nervously approached the prince. Aoi was happy every time. He would allow Uruha to walk with him around the market and would by food for the brunette. Uruha had fun talking with the prince and seeing him laugh at his jokes. He noticed the glares he was getting from the people around him, but the prince told him to ignore them. Aoi wanted all of Uruha’s attention. Even when a few noble women came up to them to try and separate Uruha from the prince, Aoi would kindly reject them. His focus was on Uruha as they walked around. Over the course of the next month it was the same. For once in his life, Uruha felt happy.

            One day, Aoi and Uruha were sitting on the fountain eating some meat buns and enjoying the warm weather. The prince reached his hand up and wiped some sauce off Uruha’s cheek. The brunette blushed when Aoi licked his thumb.

“Um, Prince Aoi…what kind of feline are you?”

He smiled. “The royal family are all jaguars. And what about yourself?”

Uruha shifted uncomfortably. “Just a… stray.”

Aoi rubbed the brunette’s cheek before moving his hand up to rub Uruha’s tan colored ear. He blushed and purred at the feeling. The prince looked at the ear and grazed his fingers over the tear on it. It looked as if something had bitten a piece off.

“Can I ask, what happened to your ear?”

Uruha stopped purring and looked at him sadly. His ears dropped as he looked at the ground. “It happened when I was a kid. This guy wanted my food and attacked me. He bit my ear. That’s when Reita came and saved me for the first time. He ended up with a broken nose though.”

“You speak a lot about this Reita.” Aoi said. “Do you care for him?”

“Yes. He’s like a brother to me. He’s always looking out for me.”

“But not like a lover?”

Uruha was shocked at the question. He stared at Aoi’s serious expression. “No.”

“Good.” Aoi smiled. “I’d have a hard time competing with someone who saved your life.”

“Competing?” Uruha asked, blushing. Before the prince could respond, a guard ran up to them and said that Aoi had to leave. The queen and king were requesting his presence. Aoi sighed as he stood up, but he took Uruha’s hand and kissed it like every other time they parted. They said their goodbyes for the day and Uruha watched as Aoi mounted his horse to leave.

            Reita laughed as his friend explained his day to him. Uruha was always so happy his with the prince. Uruha was walking backwards, rubbing his ear, telling Reita how Aoi petted him when he bumped into someone. The man was dressed in all red and had a long spotted tail and rounded ears. They both fell to the ground and Reita quickly went to help, but was pushed to the side. Two guards quickly surrounded them securing Uruha in their grasps as the third helped the nobleman to his feet. He glared at them and they both shook in fear.

“L-lord Ruki.” Reita stuttered. “It was accident.”

The short man looked at Uruha with a scowl. “Filthy creature. How dare you touch me.”

“My lord, please it won’t happen again. Let him go.” Reita pleaded.

Ruki looked at him with a smirk. “Stay out of this unless you want to lose your other eye.”

“Lord Ruki, I wasn’t looking where I was going. I’m truly sorry.” Uruha said shakily.

Ruki hummed rubbing his chin. “I am in a good mood today.”

“My lord.” A guard holding Uruha spoke moving the cloth from around the brunette’s wrist. They eyed the golden bracelet.

“What’s this?” Ruki asked fingering the bracelet. He yanked it off the brunette’s arm and studied it. “My, it’s real. How does a stray get a hold of something so valuable?”

“It was a gift.” Uruha answered.

Ruki laughed. “Oh? And who would give you something like this? In fact why would anyone give such a lowly stray anything?”

“Lord Ruki, he’s telling the truth.” Reita spoke.

“Shut it! Next time you speak I’ll rip out your tongue myself.” Ruki snapped. The blonde looked at the ground with clenched fists. Ruki looked back at Uruha and grabbed his cheeks. He dug his claws into Uruha’s pale skin. “Now, who gave it to you then?”

Uruha swallowed hard. “Prince Aoi. It was a thank you gift.”

Ruki busted into laughter as did the guards. “As if the prince would even look at you. Now if you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll have your hand chopped off.”

“I…” Uruha gasped. He was scared. He didn’t know what to say or do to get out of the situation.

“I stole it.” Reita spoke. They all turned to look at him and Uruha stared wide eyed. He shook his head, but the blonde continued. “I took it from a stand and gave it to him. I told him I had saved up to buy it. He didn’t know I took it.”

“Oh, then why say the prince gave it to him?” Ruki hummed.

“Because you wouldn’t believe that I gave it to him.” Reita said. “Let him go. Please.”

Ruki snapped his fingers and the guards let Uruha go. “Thieves need to be punished. Take him.”

Reita didn’t fight when the guards grabbed his arms. Uruha went to shout at them, but Reita shook his head and smiled. Tears rolled down Uruha’s cheeks as he watched them drag his friend away. He watched as Ruki played with the bracelet and walked behind the two guards.

            Uruha was sitting under his tent with his knees up to his chest. He wiped his puffy eyes and sniffled. It had been two days since his friend was taken away and Prince Aoi hadn’t come back to the market either. Uruha didn’t know what to do or if he could do anything. He was a stray living on the streets and Ruki was a high nobleman with a lot of wealth. Uruha’s ear twitched when he heard someone walking up. He poked his head from under the cloth and saw Reita walking slowly towards him. Uruha gasped and jumped to his feet. He stumbled forwards and Reita looked up at him with a pained expression.

“What happened? What did they do to you?”

The blonde pulled his hand out from under his shirt to show it covered in dried blood. “Declawed my hand.”

Uruha gasped. “Sit down. I’ll find some bandages for you.”

Reita nodded and got under his tent to lay down. He sighed and closed his eyes to rest as his friend went off on his search.

            It was another week before Uruha saw Aoi again. The brunette was in the marketplace, but he wasn’t there to meet the prince. He was looking for people to pickpocket and stands to get food from. His mouth watered at the smell of cooked meat. He slowly approached the stand selling the cooked meats. He waited for the owner to be distracted by something before he moved in to swipe a few pieces of meat and slipped them into his shirt. He quickly moved away to another stand where they were selling bread. He moved closer like before and waited. When the owner turned away he reached out to grab a loaf of the bread, but a hand grabbed his arm. He gasped and looked to the side to find Aoi looking sadly at him.

            The stand owner had turned back and was glaring at Uruha. The brunette swallowed nervously, but the prince handed some money over and the owner smiled. Uruha hugged the loaf in his arms as they walked out of the crowd and onto the street. Aoi gripped Uruha’s arm.

“If anyone else had caught you, you would be going to jail right now or worse getting your hand chopped off.” Aoi snapped. “What were you thinking? I would have bought you food.”

“I grew up on the streets. This is how I’ve always gotten it.”

“Not anymore.” Aoi said. He grabbed Uruha’s hand and smiled. “I had a long talk with my parents. Uruha, it took me forever to convince them to approve, but they did and so now I can ask. Will you marry me?”

Uruha was stunned. He dropped his bread and stared wide at the prince. “M-marry…you? Wait me? You want me to …why? I’m just a stray. You’re a top predator, a-a prince…”

“Yes, but I have fallen for you. Uruha, you’re beautiful and you’re funny. You have a great smile, and you have a caring personality. I have fallen in love with you. I can take care of you. Get you out of this poverty.”

Uruha smiled, but then looked away with a frown. “I… can’t accept your offer.”

“What? Why?”

Uruha looked at him watery eyes. “I can’t leave Reita, not right now. He’s hurt. He needs me to help him.”

“What happened?”

            Reita smelled food and opened his eyes. As he did Uruha was crawling in next to him. The brunette smiled as he pulled out the hidden food from his shirt and showed him the bread. The blonde smiled as he used his good hand to grab the meat. He was about to take a bite when a second figure crawled in next to Uruha. Reita noticed him.

“Prince Aoi? What are you doing here?” Reita asked.

“I came to see the reason why Uruha declined my marriage proposal.”

“Proposal?” The blonde gasped. “Uruha!”

“I can’t leave you, Reita. Not in your condition.”

The blonde rolled his eyes. “Sure you can. I can fend for myself just fine. You should take his offer.”

Uruha raised an eyebrow and tore the loaf of bread. “You can’t use your hand. How do you expect to go out and get food or money?”

“I’ll figure it out. Uruha, this is your chance to get out of this place. Take it. Forget about me.”

Uruha sniffled and shook his head, but Aoi patted his shoulder and smiled. “I may have a solution to all of this.” They both looked at him with puzzled expressions. “Why not come work in the palace? That way you can be treated, you’ll have job, a bed, and three meals a day.”

“You mean, if I say yes, Reita can come too?” Uruha asked.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

            That day, Uruha and Reita accompanied Aoi back to the palace. The prince ordered Reita be taken to the doctor to be treated. Aoi took Uruha up to a room where he ordered the servants to clean him up and cloth him. Uruha felt that it was strange for these strangers to scrub him clean. They washed him and dried him without letting him help. They brought him clothes that only the rich could afford to wear. It was completely different that the rags that he was used to. They were made of white silk. His shirt clasped around his neck and was open in the back. He wore harem pants to match. The servant placed a gold necklace on him, rings on his fingers, and a golden bangle on his arm.

            He blushed walking out in such fancy clothes. He was led by the servants to the prince’s room. Aoi was wearing black pants with a cloth as a shirt he turned and smiled at Uruha’s figure. He walked up to him and smiled.

“You’re beautiful.”

Uruha blushed. “Thank you.” He smiled, but noticed Aoi’s frown. “What?”

“Your bracelet’s gone. What happened to it?”

Uruha looked down. “I’m sorry, Aoi. It was taken from me.”

“What? By who?”

“A nobleman.” Uruha whispered. He then proceeded to tell the prince what had happened and how Reita returned with his injury without naming Ruki. He was scared that if Ruki found out, he hunt Reita down for it. Aoi was pissed to say the least. He rubbed Uruha’s arm and told him not to worry about it then. That he would buy Uruha even more bracelets.

            They had sat down on Aoi’s bed during the conversation and Uruha was playing with his pants. “Where is Reita going to be working?”

Aoi smiled. “Don’t worry, he’ll be in my brother’s care. Now then, how about we talk about our wedding?”

Uruha blushed. “Don’t you think it’s too soon? I mean we haven’t known each other for that long and you’re a prince while I’m—”

“My husband, or will be. I’ve chosen you to be my partner because I have fallen for you.” Aoi said rubbing the brunette’s cheek. He moved closer making Uruha shake. “I won’t hurt you.”

Uruha closed his eyes as he felt Aoi kiss his lips. His body relaxed and he began to kiss back as he wrapped his arms around the prince’s neck. They leaned and fell onto the bed where Aoi crawled on the brunette. Uruha moaned into the kiss and clenched Aoi’s shirt. A cough caught their attention and they broke their kiss to see a servant standing there. Aoi sighed.

“Yes, Shinya?”

“My lord, the King and Queen wish to see you.”

Aoi nodded his head and petted Uruha’s head. “Shinya, show Uruha around the castle.”

“As you wish.”

            Uruha followed Shinya from the top of the castle to the first floor. He showed the brunette the bedrooms, servant rooms, kitchen, gallery, ballrooms, and every other room he could think of. He also led Uruha around the grounds showing him the different gardens, the lake, the stables, and much more. The day had gone by quickly and Uruha was already exhausted. The sun was setting as they were walked back in and Uruha spotted a tall man in all black walking into another hallway. He was thin and had black short hair. His tail and ears were tan with black spots.

“Shinya, who is that?” He asked.

The blonde looked over. His snow white ears twitched and his cheek grew slightly pink. “That’s Prince Toshiya. One of Aoi’s older brothers.”

“Is he the one Reita will be working for?”

“Oh no. I’m Toshiya’s, I-I mean Prince Toshiya’s personal servant. Today’s the exception since Aoi’s personal servant is sick and Prince Toshiya was busy today.”

“Uh huh. So how many siblings does Aoi have?”

Shinya hummed as they continued walking. “Well, the oldest is Prince Die, then Prince Toshiya, after him is Prince Aoi, and then there’s the youngest, Princess Akiko. She’ll turn seven in a couple of weeks.”

“Oh wow, it must be nice having so many siblings.” Uruha said.

“You don’t?” Shinya asked.

“Well, not really. Reita is like a brother to me, but were not bonded by blood.”

“I see. Oh, would you like to see him?”

            Uruha didn’t hesitate to say yes and Shinya led the way to the healing wing of the castle. They didn’t go by here earlier because they’re really not supposed to go without permission. Shinya thought it would be okay though. He showed Uruha Reita’s room and let him in. It was small, but cozy. Uruha spotted his friend laying on the bed sleeping. His hand was fully bandaged and was laying on his chest. Uruha noticed that the blonde had been bathed and received new clothes as well.

“They stitched him up and gave him pain medicine. He won’t be allowed to work until next week. Prince Aoi has ordered for him to be on bed rest.”

Uruha nodded with a smile. He said a quiet goodbye and had Shinya take him back.

            When he came back to the room, he found Aoi laying on the bed shirtless. The prince’s ears perked and he smiled at Uruha as he walked in. Shinya closed the door as he left and Aoi got up. He walked over and gave the brunette a tight hug.

“Thank you.” Uruha whispered. “For taking care of Reita.”

“Your family is my family.” He said happily. “Mother has already scheduled the wedding date for next month. You’ll be meeting them tomorrow during breakfast, is that okay?”

Uruha nodded and pressed a soft kiss on Aoi’s cheek. The prince gave him a toothy grin before they parted so Uruha could change into some night wear and lay down in bed. Aoi quickly joined him and held him in his arms.

“This is the first time I’ve slept in a real bed.” Uruha whispered. “It’s so nice.”

“You’ll always have a bed to sleep on for the rest of your life. I promise you.” Aoi said. “I’m going to give you everything you’ve never had. I won’t let you go hungry again either.”

Uruha blushed and cuddled against him more. “Thank you, Aoi.” He whispered. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

            The king and queen loved Uruha. They were skeptical at first, but they warmed up to him and welcomed him to their family. Uruha was nervous the first time meeting them. He was scared they would hate him, degrade him, or kick him out. He was scared they would change their minds and not allow him to marry Aoi. He was relieved when it worked out. Over the next few days, the queen invited him out to walk and talk so they could get to know each other better. Uruha learned real quick Aoi’s mom was doing all she could to make him feel welcomed. It was almost overwhelming for him.

            He also got to meet Aoi’s siblings as well. Prince Die seemed serious and had little facial expressions. He was the mature one and seemed to be looking out for his siblings even when telling them basic table etiquette so the queen wouldn’t be mad. He also had a black tail and ears like Aoi. Prince Toshiya seemed pretty easy going and joked with Uruha a lot when they first met. He and Aoi seemed to play around a lot. They had more freedom than their older brother. Akiko was incredibly adorable. All her brothers seemed to do anything for her and spoil her. She was the only one who could get an emotion out of Prince Die. She had brown fur with black spots like Toshiya and their parents. She took an instant liking to Uruha and likes to sit in his lap.

            Uruha later learned that Reita would be under Prince Die’s care and that made him a little nervous, but he thought the blonde would be okay. The eldest brother didn’t seem that bad, just strict. Uruha yawned as he made his way to the library. When he walked in, he spotted the large window and made a beeline to it. There was a spot made for sitting by it and it had a nice view of one of the gardens. Uruha sat down and finally took in the moment of piece. He wasn’t alone for long first. He heard a giggle and turned to see Aoi walking up to sit opposite from him.

“My family can be a handful.”

“I like them” Uruha said. “They’re nice.”

“Yeah, but you can only handle so much. I like coming here too to get some alone time.” He said looking out the window. He and Uruha spotted Reita walking out with a servant. The blonde sat down on the fountain to rest it seemed. “What happened to him? I mean to his eye.”

Uruha looked down at the blonde and saw the handmade mask on his face that covered his nose and eye. “A couple of eyes ago, a nobleman by the name of Ruki propositioned Reita for sex. Reita refused and Lord Ruki got mad at him for it. He said Reita insulted him so he had to face the consequences. He personally cut out Reita’s eye. Reita didn’t tell me everything that happened, I mean he was gone for days. I had thought he’d been killed. Then he came back with one eye, beaten up and barely able to walk. He’s terrified of Lord Ruki now.”

“Ruki is a bastard.” Aoi said. “Unfortunately I know him.”

“Y-you do?”

“Mm, he’s the son of one of my father’s advisors. Ruki’s is training to be an advisor himself.” Aoi shook his head. “I’m sorry that happened to your friend. I wish there was something I could have done.”

Uruha shrugged. “Just don’t let him torment Reita again. He’s done enough damage.”

“You have my word.” Aoi said. Uruha smiled and he leaned in to kiss Aoi’s lips. The prince gripped Uruha’s hair and pulled him deeper into the kiss.

            The next month flew by before Uruha’s eyes. The next thing he knew he was standing in front of a mirror getting ready for his wedding. He stared at the white skirt he was wearing and then at the shirt that clasped around his neck on his waist exposing his stomach and back. He looked at his torn ear and rubbed it self-consciously.

“You look wonderful.” Reita spoke.

Uruha turned to his friend and blushed. “Thank you”

“Here.” The blonde said taking a brush the tan colored tail. Uruha looked at it and noticed how in one month it went from a scraggly mess to fluffy and full of fur. Shinya came and fixed Uruha’s hair as other servants fixed his makeup and clothes. Shinya grabbed a long see though veil and placed on Uruha’s head. It draped around his shoulders and it trailed the floor. His neck was adorned with three gold necklaces, he had a gold bangle on each arm and two gold bracelets on his each wrist. Lastly a belly chain was clasped around his stomach.

            He took a deep breath and allowed the servants to guide him out wear guards surrounded him. They escorted him to the first ballroom where he stood outside the doorway. Reita walked to him and gave him a hug before he and the other servants went inside. Uruha waited patiently for the main doors to open. He walked in with guards, but the parted to the sides letting him go forward alone. Everyone stood and watched him walk forward. He spotted Aoi at the end of the ballroom and smiled. The prince was wearing white harem pants that were mostly see-through and his shirt just seemed like two white cloths crisscrossing on his chest. His black tail stood out as it waved happily behind him. Uruha felt his heart beating in his chest as he walked closer. He still couldn’t believe this was happening.

            He stood in front of Aoi and everyone sat in their seats as the king stood between them. His greying beard couldn’t hide his big smile. Aoi held Uruha’s hand as the wedding ritual began. They waited patiently though the king’s speech, and then were given a cup full of wine which they both held. Prince Aoi gave his vows to Uruha first, then Uruha returned the vows to the prince. They both sipped from the cup and it was taken away so the king could bless them both. They knelt on their knees and the king took a knife from his side. He made a cut on his thumb then rubbed a circle with a line through it on Uruha’s forehead with blood, then a similar one on Aoi’s forehead. They both stood and held hands as the king finished his prayer over the newlyweds. Aoi smiled and rubbed Uruha’s cheek before moving in to capture his lips, completing the ceremony.

            Soon after, everyone moved to the second ball room to celebrate and dance. The happy couple sat at the main table and watched as everyone partied. Aoi pointed out the king and queen dancing and they laughed. Uruha looked around and spotted Die leaning on the wall sipping a glass of wine as he watched everything. Reita was nearby smiling at a few people dancing. He turned and locked eyes with Uruha. The blonde raised his glass to Uruha and the brunette raised his in return. Uruha laughed when he spotted Toshiya dancing with the princess and swinging her around to make her laugh. Aoi patted his shoulder and leaned to whisper in his ear. Uruha blushed, but nodded.

            After the song ended, Aoi announced his and Uruha departure from the party, but urged everyone to continue. Aoi and Uruha practically ran to their new room in the castle. Once inside they locked the door and Uruha attacked Aoi’s lips. The raven moaned into the kiss as he gripped Uruha’s hips. He pulled away with a smiled and nodded to the bed. Uruha happily walked towards it, talking off his veil and jewelry in the process. He sat down on it but was pushed on his back when Aoi climbed on him. They both crawled back on the bed to lay fully on it before they started kissing again.

            Their hands began to explore each other. Uruha’s reached behind Aoi and began tugging at the knot that tied his top together. Once he felt it go loose, Aoi sat up and unwound it from his body and tossed it to the side. He went back down and started on unclasping Uruha’s top. He threw it off and leaned down to start kissing Uruha’s neck. The brunette gasped out and petted the top of Aoi’s head as the prince bit his neck. Aoi licked his way down to Uruha’s nipples and started sucking on one as he pinched the other. Uruha moaned out and quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth. Aoi smirked as he pulled his lover’s hand away.

“I want to hear you.”

Uruha blushed. “Pervert.”

“You love me anyways.” Aoi joked licking down the pale stomach.

            Uruha shivered and reached down to grip Aoi’s hair as he licked above the skirt. Aoi smirked as he pulled the skirt down and moved to throw it across the room. He looked down to see Uruha half hard and already leaking. He poked the member making Uruha whimper. He laughed before moving down and kissing his lover’s thighs. Uruha bit his lip as he watched the jaguar lick his inner thigh. He felt his member twitch from the sight. Aoi slowly made his way down and took the leaking cock into his mouth. Uruha shivered in delight and threw his head back as Aoi started bobbing his head. As Aoi sucked, he started playing with Uruha’s balls and massaging them too.

            Aoi pulled off making Uruha whimper, but the prince got off the bed to take off his own pants. As he did Uruha sat up and crawled to the edge. Aoi stood there and petted Uruha’s head. The brunette reached out and rubbed Aoi’s hips before pulling him closer. He blushed, but took Aoi’s member in one hand and stroked it. The prince hummed with delight and petted Uruha’s head again. Uruha closed his eyes as he began to purr. He leaned closer and kissed the harden member in front of him. He licked his lips before taking it into his mouth. Aoi watched closer as his lover slowly bobbed his head and swirled his tongue. Aoi shivered feeling the vibrations of Uruha’s purring and clenched the brunette’s hair.

            It wasn’t too much longer before Aoi pulled Uruha off with a blushing face. Uruha laughed when he realized the prince was close to coming. He moved back and laid on his back as Aoi crawled on the bed. They had moved further up on the bed and Uruha had laid his head on the pillows. Aoi spotted the lube he needed sitting next to Uruha’s head and grabbed it. He rubbed Uruha’s thigh and the brunette opened his legs nervously. Aoi poured the lube onto his hand smeared it between his fingers as he moved between his lover’s legs.

            He rubbed Uruha’s thighs when he noticed the brunette shaking.

“I’ll be gentle.” Aoi whispered. “Just relax.”

Uruha took a deep breath and nodded his head. Aoi moved his fingers and rubbed them against Uruha’s entrance. The brunette shivered as he felt a finger go inside him and gasped as it started moving. It was weird at first, but then Aoi added a second finger and Uruha started moaning. The jaguar licked his lips at the reaction. After a few more minutes, he leant down and took Uruha’s member into his mouth as he added a third finger. Uruha clenched the bedsheets as Aoi curled his fingers.

“Aoi...” He gasped over and over. “Aoi…”

 The prince smirked and gently pulled his fingers out. He crawled up and placed soft pecks on Uruha’s neck. “Are you ready?”

Uruha nodded and Aoi pressed his lips against the brunette’s. The prince pulled away and poured more lube into his hand to coat his twitching member. He stroked himself a few times before positioning himself. He looked up Uruha who reached his hand out. Aoi happily grabbed it and squeezed it before he slowly pushed in. Uruha gripped his Aoi’s hand and whimpered as the prince pushed all the way in. Aoi stilled for a moment so Uruha could get used to the feeling.

            Aoi reached up and wiped the tears forming his lover’s eyes before leaning in for a kiss. Uruha reached between them to started stroking himself as Aoi began thrusting his hips. He started with a slow rhythm at first. He made sure that Uruha was enjoying it before he quickened the pace. Uruha gasped out squeezing Aoi’s hand. The prince pressed kisses on the brunette’s neck as he moved a little harder. Uruha called out Aoi’s name over and over as they continued the pace.

            Uruha cried out once more and clenched around Aoi making him grunt. The brunette came, shooting his seeds all over the prince’s stomach. Uruha gasped as his body relaxed, but Aoi couldn’t wait too long. He began thrusting again, making his lover whimper. He sucked on Uruha’s neck as quickened his pace. Aoi finally pulled away and sat up. He gripped Uruha’s hips and started pounding into him faster making him cry out more.

“Gonna…come…” Aoi grunted and within a few more thrusts and released his seeds into Uruha’s body. He rode out the orgasm before falling onto Uruha’s spent body.

            They laid there gasping for air and letting their hearts calm down. Aoi moved over and kissed Uruha’s lips as he carefully slipped out the brunette’s body. Uruha shivered from the feeling but relaxed. Aoi rolled off his lover, but pulled him into his arms. Uruha smiled as he was covered in soft kisses and held tightly. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Aoi’s heart beating. The prince rubbed Uruha’s back and received the soothing purr in return. He relaxed his body and listened to Uruha’s purring. They both silently drifted off to sleep with loving smiles on their faces.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Uruha and Aoi get married, things seems perfect, but for Reita it seems like his life hasn't improved. The eldest prince, Prince Die, doesn't seem to like him that much, but it seems Reita doesn't know the whole story. Will Die be able to express his true feeling or are they destined to remain seperated?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter focuses on DiexReita

            Reita knocked before he opened the bedroom door. It was dark inside, but he knew where to sit the tray of food. He opened the curtains to let some of the sun in and turned to look at the lump on the bed. He walked to it and sat on the bed to shake the person underneath. The prince groaned before sitting up. His long black hair was a tangled mess and his eyes were still puffy from sleepy. He yawned and stretched as Reita got off the bed. The blonde grabbed the tray he had brought in and placed it on the prince’s lap.

“Prince Die, you have a meeting with the king and his advisors in an hour. Make sure to eat everything. He said it’s going to be a long one.” Reita said walked to the closet. He started going through the clothes and picked out a black cloak with black harem pants. They both had red patterns on it. He walked them over and laid them out on the bed. Die chewed on the biscuits as he watched the blonde move around the room cleaning it up.

            Die groaned setting his tray to the side. He slipped out of bed and stretched his body out. Reita watched Die flex his body, curling his pitch black tail and flattening his ears in the process. The blonde blushed and turned around as Die walked around to the window to open the curtains up more. The prince looked out with longing eyes. Reita looked out to see Aoi and Uruha walking together and holding hands as they laughed. Reita placed his bandaged hand on Die’s shoulder.

“You have to get ready.”

Die shrugged the hand off and snapped at the blonde. “Don’t touch me.”

Reita brought his hand to his chest and looked down. He grey ears flattened down and his tail curled between his legs. He nodded and went to collect the tray then left the prince alone. Die groaned as he rubbed his forehead. ‘I’m sorry.’

            Reita sighed as he scrubbed the prince’s dirty clothes in the metal bin of water. He looked up at the bright sky then back down at his chores. He’d rather be in the market place swiping money and food than scrubbing another man’s underwear. He could easily get a slave to do this work, but it was assigned to him, so he felt he had to do it. Though other servants sometimes had the castle slaves do their work, Reita still refused to do it. After he was finished, he hung up the clothes on a line to let them dry. He sat down and rewrapped his scarred fingers to hide them from everyone.

            It was like this all the time now. He would wake the prince, do chores during his meetings, then bring him food when he was out, and do whatever the prince needed him to do. It had become a dull life for Reita and he was trying to make the best of it. He was happy for Uruha though. The brunette was always smiling and spent most of his time with Prince Aoi. Reita felt a little lonely.

“Rei-Rei!” Princess Akiko shouted as she ran up to him in the hallway. He smiled and knelt down to greet her.

“Hello Princess, how are you today?” He asked.

She smiled brightly. “Bored. I’m going to get one of my brothers to play with me. Would you help me find them?”

“Princess.” A tall guard glared. “You shouldn’t talk to a lowly servant. He’s nothing more than a trained house cat.”

She pouted, but held Reita’s hand. “But Kaoru, I like Rei-Rei. Die likes him, too, so he’s not bad okay? Rei-Rei is going to help me find my brothers so we can play.”

“Princess,” Reita spoke. “Your brothers are very busy today. Why not play with some of the other children?”

Her spotted ears flattened and her tail dropped. “But they’re all scared of me. They’re no fun.” She suddenly smiled and her ears perked up. “Rei-Rei will you play with me? Just until one of my brothers can? Please?”

The blonde smiled. “Whatever the princess wishes.”

“Yay!” She shouted. The guard tried to interject, but the princess glared at him silencing him. “Kaoru, tell Die that I have Rei-Rei when he comes out, okay. And that he has to come out and play with us. We’ll be in the gardens playing hide-n-go-seek.”

“Yes, Princess.” The guard said bowing his head.

            Prince Die scratched his head as he listened from his spot at the table. His father and the advisors were talking about taxes again. Die was tired of these meetings. They seemed to be everyday now and they were just discussing the same things over and over. The king often told him that they had to stay on top of it or else the kingdom would go out of balance. An out of balance kingdom was destined to fail. Die was just tired. He was tired of being the first prince. How he envied his brothers’ freedoms sometimes. His thoughts were broken when every stood up and he did as well. The King dismissed them all except the prince. Die swallowed hard. He probably got caught daydreaming again, but the King smiled happily as he walked up to his son.

            Die walked out of the room with clenched fists and a scowl on his face. He was stomping away not listening to whoever was calling his name. It wasn’t until someone grabbed his shoulder that he snapped.

“What?” He roared, startling the guard, but he maintained his glare.

Kaoru took a deep breath. “My Prince, the little princess ordered me to inform you that she took Reita out to play with her. She wanted you to meet her in the gardens to join them.”

Die let out a low growl and turned to walk away. He wanted to go to his room, but his dear sister requested his presence and he couldn’t disappoint her.

            It was Reita’s turn to seek so he was looking throughout the garden for the princess as she hid from him. He searched high and low throughout the garden. He sniffed the air and searched her scent instead. Finally he was getting closer to her. He walked towards the tall trees and looked around when he heard a giggle. He looked up and saw the princess up in the branches almost at the top. He smiled up at her.

“Found you.” He shouted. “Come on down.”

“Nope. You have to come up here and get me.” She said playfully.

He frowned a little. “Princess, I can’t. I’m not good at climbing anymore.”

“Aw, Rei-Rei is it because you’re old?”

“I’m not that old!” She laughed and started to climb down when her foot slipped. She screamed out and Reita gasped. “Princess!”

She caught a branch and wrapped her arms around it. She started to cry. “Rei-Rei, help me!”

“Calm down.” He said and looked around. “I’m going to get help. Just hang on!”

“No! Don’t leave me alone. Please help me Rei-Rei!” She cried.

He bit his lip and looked at his bandaged hand. He nodded and started climbing the tree. He went slowly, grabbing branches with his bad hand while digging his claws into the tree bark. He climbed up closer and finally made it to her. She stretched her arms out and wrapped them around his neck and her legs around his stomach. He held onto her with his bad hand. He looked down nervously.

            Die and Kaoru had walked into the gardens looking for the two of them. Die sighed as started to track his sister by her scent. They followed it around the gardens, but they jumped when they heard the princess scream. Die took off in a sprint with Kaoru close behind. They headed further in to the trees and looked around. Die spotted Reita up in a tree with his sister. He let out a low growl.

“The hell are you two doing up there?” He shouted. It startled Reita and he lost his grip, but he quickly dug his claws into the tree as they fell a few inches. Die gasped as he watched them start to fall, but when the blonde got his hold again, the prince sighed in relief. “Stay there.”

Die jumped on the tree and climbed up it reaching them in seconds. He took the princess in his arms and glared at the blonde. He ordered her to hang on tightly before he jumped from the tree. He landed gracefully on his feet and handed his sister off to Kaoru.

Reita was making his way down when he was suddenly yanked from the tree by the prince. Die held the blonde up by his shirt and snarled at him. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have hurt my sister!”

“I’m sorry.” Reita whimpered looking away. “I was just trying to help her.”

“With that bum hand? You can’t even climb properly, how did you expect to get her down?”

“Don’t yell at him!” The princess cried. She jumped from Kaoru’s hold, ran up to her brother and tugged at his pants. “I told him not leave me! I told him to get me down. It’s my fault not his.”

Die sighed and let the blonde go. He leaned down and petted his sister’s head with a soft smile. “You shouldn’t do dangerous things. You could have gotten hurt. Or even worse you could have caused someone else to get hurt. You wouldn’t want that on your conscious. Now, why don’t we go play somewhere else?”

She nodded with a smile.

            Reita had been dismissed and he quickly left them alone. He made his way to Uruha’s room where he found his friend talking to some servants. The brunette dismissed them and Reita sat on the bed. Uruha smiled as he sat next to his friend. The blonde laid on the bed and curled up into a ball. Uruha rubbed his back.

“He hates me Uru.” He whispered.

“Who?”

“Prince Die. He hates me.”

Uruha hummed. “How do you know that?”

“The way he treats me.” Reita mumbled.

“Remember, Aoi said Prince Die doesn’t like to be touched that much.”

“Not just that Uruha. He snaps at me too. He avoids looking at me, and when he does he glares at me. I know I’m just a stray, but it’s worse than being on the streets. There I would just get looks by strangers who knew nothing about me, but I’ve been working for Prince Die for half a year now.”

“The Prince is just going through a lot. He’s next in line you know and so he has to have restrictions. He has to hold up a certain standard. He has a lot of pressure on his shoulders.” Uruha said. “He’s just stressed out, is all.”

Reita nodded his head and closed his eyes. He felt like a nap would be good right now.

            The next week went one like normal and Die seemed to have forgotten about the incident with his sister. He treated Reita like normal, which was still cold, but at least he wasn’t angry anymore. Reita didn’t want Die to be angry with him. He figured Die was too busy to even care anymore since the king announced some sort of ball this weekend. Everyone was scattering around to prepare for it. The night before though, things seemed to have calmed down a little. It was late when Reita had gathered some of his things and headed to the bath to wash up. He sat his things down outside the large heated tub. It was a group bathing room, but lucky for Reita it was empty at the moment.

            He was removing his shirt when he heard the door open. He looked over to see Prince Die walking with a towel in his arms. Reita blushed.

“Prince Die, I thought you already bathed.”

“No not yet. I’ll be joining you.” He announced. He hung his towel next to Reita’s before removing his clothes. The blonde turned away and finished removing his shirt. He placed it to the side. He slipped his pants down and folded them with his shirt. He shivered and turned to find the prince watching him. He turned back and started unwrapping his hand. Die sat down next to the bath and grabbed a bucket to started pouring water on himself. Reita touched the mask on his face, but refrained from taking it off. He grabbed a second bucket and filled it with warm water.

“Aren’t you going to take that off?” Die asked. Reita found the prince staring and he blushed.

“I don’t… want to offend you with my face.”

“Huh?” The prince raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and reached over. Reita gasped as the Prince took the mask off his face and sat it to the side. He looked at the scarred eyelid, embarrassing Reita even more. He felt pity and looked away. “Wash my back, please.”

            Reita had washed the prince and then himself. Neither wanted to relax in the water, so they headed back to the prince’s room. They were both only wearing towels as they walked, but most of the castle was sleeping so it didn’t matter. They headed into his room where Reita went straight to the closet to pull out some nightwear for the prince. Die accepted the thin pants before slipping into his bed. Reita shook his head as he grabbed the disposed towel. He climbed onto the bed and placed it on the prince’s head.

“You’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry off properly.” Reita said rubbed the towel over Die’s head. He pushed it back to see the prince staring up at him. Die reached his arm out and rubbed Reita’s side making him blush. They stared at each other as Die reached up with his other hand and rubbed Reita’s cheek. He gently rubbed his thumb over the scarred eyelid. The blonde swallowed hard as he leaned down and the prince raised a little. Their faces were inches apart. Their lips were grazing each other when the prince turned his head away. Reita understood and quickly left the room. Die punched his mattress and groaned. He glared up at the ceiling.

“Damn it all.”

            The next evening, the ballroom had filled up with guests. Aoi and Uruha were wearing matching purple outfits, while Toshiya was wearing a see-through light blue outfit. Akiko was in her favorite green pants with a green crop top and her emerald jewelry. Die was wearing a simple black outfit with a ruby necklace. He was as emotionless as always. Reita was wearing his white harem clothes that evening. He was invited as a guest by Uruha so he didn’t have to work. He just stood near his friend most of the night. Uruha had gone off to dance with Aoi during one of the songs leaving Reita alone. He was thinking about leaving, but then someone walked up to him. He turned and gasped. Ruki was standing there with a dark smile. Beside him stood a brunette smirking.

“L-lord Ruki. Lord Kai.” He stuttered. His body began to shake.

“What is a filthy stray doing in the castle?” Ruki hummed. “How did you get in here?”

“I w-work here now.”

“You hear that Kai? He says he works in the castle.” Ruki smirked. “A filthy stray working here. Who would have thought it was possible?”

“Did you need something, Lord Ruki?” Uruha said walking up to them.

The short leopard glared at the brunette. “You too? Aren’t you lucky to become servants in the castle? Disgusting. You should be on the streets where you belong.”

“You dare speak to my husband that way.” Aoi growled gripping Uruha’s shoulder. “How dare you insult him.”

“Husband? You married this...” Ruki gasped, but stopped when he saw Aoi’s dark growl. “Well, my prince, I wish you great happiness with your…choice.”

“Don’t go near Reita again.” Uruha ordered. “Or I’ll have you arrested.”

“You can’t order my arrest.” Ruki snapped.

“He can.” Aoi said. “It would be wise to hold your tongue before you anger me even further.”

“Ruki, let’s go.” Kai said, pulling his friend away.

Uruha grabbed Reita’s shaking shoulders. The blonde looked up and noticed Die had been looking at them the whole time. He looked away. “I’m fine Uru. Thank you.”

            The king raised up and the music stopped. Everyone looked at him as he waved his hand and Die stood up. He walked next to his father as a young woman in a red and pink dress walked up to them. She stood next to the Kind as well. She was very pretty to say the least. Her light brown hair was up in a bun, her spotted ears were twitching with nervousness. Her white spotted tail waved behind her as she smiled out to everyone. She had big eyes, a small nose and thin lips. She was all around small and short too.

The king smiled placing a hand both of their shoulders. “Tonight I have a very important announcement. It has been decided, that my eldest son, Prince Die, will marry Princess Miyoko of the Northern Kingdom.” The ballroom clapped from the announcement, but Reita was frozen. His eyes were wide staring at the engaged couple. He found it hard to breath and he leaned up against the wall. Uruha noticed and walked to him.

 “The wedding will take place one year from today once Princess Miyoko has come of age.” The king announced and the ballroom clapped some more. Die took Miyoko’s hand and led her to the dance floor as the music started playing again.

            Reita’s eyes were watering up and he looked away. Uruha patted his shoulder, asking what was wrong, but he stayed quiet. Die continued to dance, but spotted Reita off to the side. The blonde didn’t even look over before he started walking out of the room. Die’s eyes followed Reita as he left. He looked down at Miyoko and continued his dance.

            Uruha wanted to go after his friend, but Aoi told him not to. Reita needed to be alone and the prince saw that. He took Uruha’s hand and led him in to join the dance. Ruki smirked seeing the blonde leave alone and he dragged Kai along with him as they left the ball room. They stepped out to the hallway and found the blonde leaning on the wall looking out a window. Ruki smirked as he walked up to the blonde and forced him to turn around. Reita gasped seeing him and Kai.

“Lord Ruki…” He mumbled.

“Come Reita. I’ll dry those tears for you.” Ruki said rubbing the blonde’s side. Reita couldn’t step back or get away, so he glared at the lord.

“Let go of me.”

Ruki glared at him. “Don’t you give me orders you lowly servant. You are going to do as I say. If you don’t I’ll take out your other eye.”

Reita swallowed. “You can’t hurt me here.”

Ruki reached out and gripped the blonde’s hair. “Oh? You want to bet? Get on your knees like a good stray.”

When Reita refused, Kai kicked his knees making him fall. The leopards laughed at Reita and pushed his head against the wall. Kai wrapped his arms around Ruki’s chest and licked his neck. “We should have kept him the last time we took him.”

“Hmm, yes we should have. But we could always take him now. Nobody would notice a missing stray.”

            Akiko had seen Reita walk out of the room and she had seen the tears running down his cheeks. She was worried and walked to the door to go see him when she saw Ruki and Kai walk out ahead of her. She slipped out of the ball room and looked around. She was quiet as she stumbled upon the scene. She kept quiet and watched as the lords dragged Reita into a nearby room. The blonde was struggling to get free, but was forced into the room. She gasped and quickly ran back to the ballroom. She looked around trying to find anyone to help her. She saw Die and Miyoko finishing their dance at the end of the song and bowing to everyone then each other. She ran straight to him and grabbed his leg. He knelt down and grabbed her arms.

“What’s wrong? What has you so upset?”

“They took Rei-Rei!” She whispered. “They took him into the tea room. He didn’t want to go. They said something about taking him and that nobody would miss him. I’ll miss him! Please help Rei-Rei.”

He patted her head. “Find Toshiya, let him know too, and stay with him. I’ll bring Reita back.”

She nodded and Die quickly left the room, not caring who saw.

            He walked down the hallway and to the only tea room in it. He stepped forward and heard whimpering behind the door. He grabbed the door handle and heard Ruki speaking.

“Suck it or you’ll lose your other eye.”

 His eyes grew wide. He stormed into the room and saw that Reita was on his knees, Kai was holding his arms behind his back. Ruki had a hold of Reita’s hair and his other hand on his flaccid cock. Reita’s eyes grew wide seeing Die stand there. His eyes watered up in embarrassment. Die glared at them and his hands were in fists.

“Unhand him!” The prince roared. The two lords let him go and backed away. Die walked in lowly growling at them. “Get out of my castle and never return. You’re not welcomed here anymore.”

Lord Kai grabbed Ruki’s hand and dragged him out of the room. Reita had remained on the floor, but was pulled to his feet and dragged to a nearby couch. They sat down next to each other and Die grabbed Reita’s hand.

“Are you hurt?” He asked and the blonde shook his head. Die sighed with relief and smiled, surprising Reita. The prince rubbed Reita’s cheek before removing the black mask he wore. Reita tried to look away, but Die held his head in place and rubbed his thumb on the scarred eye again. Reita wrapped his hands around Die’s wrist.

“He did this to you, didn’t he?”

Reita nodded. “Yes.”

“What happened?” Die asked.

“I refused to have sex with him. He said I humiliated him in front of everyone and had to be punished. He and Kai took me to a dungeon and he took my eye for punishment. They held me for days. They…I don’t want to talk about it.”

Die nodded. “He did this to your hand too?”

Reita nodded, telling him the story about Uruha’s bracelet and how he couldn’t let Uruha suffer at Ruki’s tortures.

“He won’t ever touch you again. I swear.” Die whispered rubbing the blonde’s cheek.

Reita pulled his head away. “Please stop. Please stop touching me so gently. I’ll get the wrong idea.”

Die grabbed his face and turned him back. He leaned forward and kissed Reita’s lips and the blonde moaned into the kiss. His body shook as he kissed back. The prince gently pulled away with red cheeks. “I…care for you Reita. I have since the day you came to the castle. I wish I wasn’t the first prince, then I could make you happy. It’s my duty to marry a princess of another kingdom. I’ve known this all my life.”

“Prince Die, why are you telling me this?”

“I’m sorry Reita.” He whispered. “I was being selfish kissing you. I just wanted a moment where I could let my feelings out. I like you Reita, but we can never be together. That’s why I treated you like I did. I wanted you to hate me. So it would be easier to let you go. Instead you kept looking at me with those eyes. You kept smiling and taking care of me. I wanted you to hate me so it would be easier to go through with this marriage. Instead I’m here kissing you.”

Reita smiled and rubbed the Prince’s cheek, but he pulled away and stood up. “Prince—”

“I’ll be moving you into Akiko’s care. You’ll be her servant starting tomorrow. I’m sorry Reita, but I can’t be around you. If I am, I lose it and betray my betrothed. I can’t break this marriage. If only I was the one born second, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this. I’m sorry.”

Reita watched with wide eyes as he left the room and he whimpered. He buried his face into his hands and began to cry.

            Reita hardly saw Die anymore now. He was always with Akiko and she took this as an opportunity to always have a playmate. They were never alone either. Kaoru was always by the princess’s side. Reita held a smile for her sake and made sure she didn’t see him looking sad. He didn’t want others to see his pain. This had lasted for months and it was taking its toll on Reita’s emotional state. Uruha would sometimes have Reita accompany him to the market to get his mind off everything. The brunette wished he could help his friend.

            Die was in no better position. Princess Miyoko had moved into the castle to become familiar with it. She was always by his side where ever he went. It was his duty to keep her company and that meant always keeping a fake smile on his face. Whenever he spotted Reita around the castle, he felt his heart ache. He rarely got to see the blonde and he hated it. He hated not being woken up by him and he hated not being able see the blonde blush. He hated everything.

            Reita was walking with Akiko to the gardens when he spotted Die and Miyoko walking in their direction. Die saw him and wanted to say something, anything to the blonde. Miyoko had asked him question though and he had to turn his attention to her. Reita walked past him without getting any recognition and it hurt. He glanced back to see Die’s full attention on the princess. Akiko pulled at Reita’s hand to show him something out the window. Die looked over his shoulder and saw the blonde looking away. The prince sighed dejectedly.

            Akiko decided to have lunch in the gardens with Reita as her guest of honor. He sat with her as they were served tea and a few sandwiches. Akiko hummed happily as she ate and Reita nibbled at his meal. Kaoru was standing a few feet away looking around the garden. His ears twitched and his eyes narrowed. He grabbed his sword on his side and looked around.

“Reita. Take the princess into the castle.” Kaoru ordered suddenly. They both stared at him for a moment before Reita nodded. He stood up and grabbed the princess’s hand. She huffed, but went along with it. As they started walking, something jumped from the bushes. Reita saw something flying towards them and he quickly covered the princess with his body. Kaoru jumped in front of them and deflected the arrow with his blade. Reita took this chance to run with Akiko and led her out of the garden.

            They stopped suddenly at the entrance when they saw the guards lying dead on the ground and two masked assassins standing by them. Reita grabbed Akiko into his arms and ran back into the garden as they were chased. He held her close to his body as they ran deeper in the garden maze, but they were cut off by the wall at the end. He turned to see the two assassins walking up to them. Reita sat her down and moved her behind him. He swallowed hard watching the two of them. The one on the left darted and moved in. He was too fast for Reita defend and he was tackled to the ground. The second assassin swooped in and grabbed Akiko. Reita knew they were of cheetah blood to have moved that fast.

“No!” Reita shouted. He reached up and bit his fangs into the man’s neck and dug his claws in his skin. The cheetah grunted, but pulled away and punched Reita in the face. Reita hissed and pounced on the man, forcing him on his back. Reita jumped up and went chasing after the assassin that took Akiko. He was barely keeping up when he was tackled to the ground and the cheetah from before grabbed his throat choking him. He felt the claws digging into his neck as his air was cut off.

            Die had sat down at the dining table with his family and Miyoko for lunch. Akiko had wanted to eat outside that day, so it was only adults today. Aoi was being cute and feeding Uruha from his plate, making the brunette laugh. Toshiya rolled his eyes as he played with his own meal. Die sighed at his brothers before eating his meal properly. The queen was making small talk with Miyoko when the main door swung open and a guard rushed in.

“Your highnesses, there are assassins in gardens!” He shouted. Die and Toshiya didn’t hesitate to drop their silverware and run out. Aoi told Uruha to stay there, but the brunette refused because Reita might be in danger too. The queen and king ran out of the room after them leaving Miyoko with the guard.

            Die was first to the garden and saw the dead guards laying there. He headed in one direction and Toshiya went in the other. Toshiya went straight his sister’s favorite lunch spot to find Kaoru punching a man in black to the ground. The guard grabbed his sword on the ground and quickly impaled the assassin.

“Where’s Akiko?” He asked.

“Reita took her towards the castle.” Kaoru said.

Toshiya shook his head. “The guards at the entrance had been killed. We didn’t pass them coming out.”

“Damn it.” Kaoru growled. He and Toshiya went deeper into the gardens. Aoi and Uruha had caught up with Die as he ran into the garden maze. He sniffed the air around him and took off in the direction of his sister.

            As they made a turn they halted to a stop as did the assassin holding Akiko. The cheetah threw knives at them and Die jumped to dodge them. Aoi pulled Uruha back and Die charged forward. The assassin blocked his punches and kicks, but Die roared as he jumped on the man. He bit down on his neck. Aoi took this chance and ran in to pull his sister away from the assassin’s grasp. He handed her to Uruha and told the brunette to run. Uruha didn’t hesitate and took off towards the castle and Aoi looked back to see Die punching the man’s face in. Aoi walked to him and pulled his off almost getting clawed in the process. Die’s eyes widened and he gained his composure. He took a deep breath.

Die suddenly gasped though. “Reita!”

Before Aoi could respond, his brother took off again.

            Reita felt the world around him tilting and his vision was going black. He dropped his arms to the side as he lost his strength. He felt the grip tighten around his neck and he started to close his eyes. He pictured Die’s face as his body went numb and his mind faded away. A tear rolled down his cheek and he stopped moving. The assassin let go of his neck and sat up. He stood up and got ready to go after his companion when the prince came running up out of nowhere. Die’s eyes were wide looking at Reita’s still form on the ground. He roared as charged in. He didn’t hesitate clawing at the assassin and tackling him to the ground. The man pulled out a dagger and stabbed Die in his leg, but prince’s adrenaline pushed the pain out of his mind as he continued tearing into the cheetah.

            Aoi ran in to see Die covered in blood looking up at the sky. The prince was crying as he slowly moved off the unrecognizable assassin. He crawled over to Reita’s body and whimpered. The king and queen, hearing their son’s roar, raced in and found him picking up Reita’s body into his arms.

“Rei…ta.” Uruha gasped as he walked forward. Aoi grabbed him and held him back. The brunette had come back to help find his friend, but not like this. Kaoru pushed himself forward and slid on his knees next to the blonde. He pushed Prince Die away and laid Reita flat.

“There is still time.” He shouted and began pushing on Reita’s chest. He leaned in and blew into the blonde’s mouth. They all watched as he continued the ministrations over and over. Kaoru pulled away to push Reita’s chest again when the blonde suddenly coughed out. He gasped for air and everyone let out the breaths they had been holding. Die cried as he moved next to the coughing blonde and pulled him into his arms.

“Reita, I thought I had lost you.” He whimpered. The king and queen watched with wide eyes from the side as their son rubbed Reita’s cheek. The blonde let out a few weak coughs as he gripped the prince’s hand. He smiled and Die leaned in to kiss him. The queen covered her mouth in shock.

            Die was sitting at the table with Reita next to him. They were holding hands under the table. Die looked over at Reita’s bandaged neck then down at the table top. Just hours ago he almost lost the man he loved. The king, queen, and princess Miyoko were sitting across from them.

“How long?” The king asked.

“Since the day he came here, I fell for him.” Die said. “I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t. I can’t.”

“Die, you have to marry Princess Miyoko. It’s your duty.”

Die shook his head. “It’s not fair! All my life I’ve been living how you’ve wanted me to. I’ve done the lessons you required of me, all the meetings, dinners, dances, and on and on! I’ve done everything to make you happy. No matter how much I hated those things. For once in my life why can’t I have something I want! I want Reita, not Miyoko.”

“Die!” The queen gasped. Die buried his head into his arms.

“Why? Why couldn’t I have been born second? Why me? I just want one thing that’ll make me happy. Just one. Why is that so much to ask for? Toshiya, Aoi, and Akiko get everything they ever wanted. You let Aoi marry a man off the streets just a month after he asked. You let Toshiya act like a child and let him have his relationship with Shinya. You let Akiko have anything she asks for. Why can’t I have just one request?”

Miyoko rubbed her arm uncomfortably and looked around. Reita patted Die’s back and was the one to speak up. “You should listen to your parents. They just want what’s best for you.”

“Reita!” He gasped looking at the blonde.

Reita smiled. “Die, I’m a disabled stray who was lucky to work in the castle. I have no worth, but Princess Miyoko does. She’s beautiful, elegant, and has status.”

Die shook his head with a scowl. “But she’s not you. I don’t care about your eye or your hand. I just want to be with you.”

“I want to be with you, too, but we can’t.” Reita whispered and stood up. He bowed to the king and queen before leaving the room. Die sniffled and dropped his head. Miyoko looked down, then at the king and queen.

“Your majesty, I wish to speak freely.” She requested and the queen nodded. “Die is a great man, and I truly enjoy being with him, but I don’t love him. I know arranged marriages don’t care about love, but what’s the point if his heart belongs to someone else? Besides, I too have someone I’d rather be with back home. I only came here because my father ordered me to. All this will create is sadness…won’t it?”

            Reita was sitting on a fountain in the gardens. He wiped his eyes as tears flowed down his cheeks. He couldn’t seem to stop crying. Uruha had walked up and sat next to him. The brunette rubbed Reita’s back and hugged him, letting him cry out. Uruha felt awful because he was once again unable to protect his friend. They heard someone walk up to them and looked up to see Die standing there. Uruha excused himself and let them be alone. Die sat next to the sniffling blonde.

“We talked more after you left.” Die spoke up. “My mom is stubborn and so is my dad, but they want their kids to be happy. Miyoko is going back home tomorrow.”

Reita looked up with wide eyes. “What?”

“She’s going back home. Dad is breaking the engagement.” Die said with a smile. He grabbed Reita’s hand. “He gave me permission to ask for your hand instead.”

The blonde gasped. “You mean you’re not marrying her?”

“Nope.” Reita smiled and hugged Die tightly in his arms. The prince pulled away slightly to kiss Reita’s lips. “I want be with you. Reita, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Reita cried happily. Die pulled him in for another kiss. For the first time in their lives they felt truly happy.


End file.
